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Inside Washington (08/13/2009)

* WASHINGTON (8/14/09)--Janet Yellen, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, is emerging as a candidate for the head of the Federal Reserve Board, according to financial observers. Yellen is an economist who headed the Council of Economic Advisors under Former President Bill Clinton. She also has taught economics at the University of California-Berkeley since 1980. If chosen, she would be the first woman to lead the Fed (American Banker Aug. 13). Besides Yellen, other candidates seeking to replace current Fed chief Ben Bernanke include Lawrence Summers, director of the National Economic Council and former president of Harvard University, and Alan Blinder, former Fed vice chairman. President Barack Obama has not indicated if he will nominate Bernanke again. Bernanke’s term expires in January ... * WASHINGTON (8/14/09)--The U.S. government spent more than it made in July for the 10th consecutive month (The Wall Street Journal Aug. 13). In a monthly budget statement released Wednesday, the Treasury said the government was $180 billion in debt during July. Last month’s federal government spending totaled $332 billion. The debt is attributed to costs of a rescue package for financial firms, reduced tax revenues from corporate profits, and the economic stimulus plan. The federal budget deficit was $102 billion in July 2008. Deficits of a consecutive 11 months have been recorded three times. The last time was May 1991. The widest deficit for one month is $193 billion, which was recorded in February ...